Wood veneer and method of treating same



quired in from the surfaces to es would be the case if it were It is preferable and a temperature of 150 degrees above. It is essential that this pressing operation Patented Dec. 16, 1941 UNITED STATE woon' vnnnnn sNn'ME'rnon or TREATING SAME John S. Williamson, Baltimore County, Md.

' Serial-No. Claim!- (CL 1549-2) The use of wood veneer has in the past been limited to those applications where mechani pressure can be brought to bear upon the veneer untilsufiicient time has elapsed for theglue to harden and hold, the veneer pressureto hold veneer flat and maintain it in flat contact with the surface to which the veneer is to be applied until the glue is thoroughly set are very expensive, not only in but in their maintenance, in the extremely-high cost of laminated panels which are used for interior panel work, manufacture of furniture, and for other uses.

Furthermore, an extremely heavy core is rethe ordinary method of making panels, to prevent. the pull of the veneer from warping from the core.

For general repair work or re-covering of checked or peeling veneer surfaces, it has been necessary to partiallyfdismantle these surfaces in orderto re-veneer them.,

This invention comprises a thin lamina of wood of the. order of of aninch thick, or thinner, which is coated and impregnated on one side with vulcanized latex and on the other side with a synthetic resin finish, of substantially water-proofed material. The veneer having been thoroughly dried before sealing between these water-proof materials, cannot abmoisture from the atmosphere or which it is applied, and tendency to expand, not protected. to dry this thin veneer between the plates of a hot-plate press, using a pressure neighboring on 150 pounds to the square inch Fahrenheit or sorb additional therefore has little or no removejrom the veneer all inherent or naturally occurring moisture and contract it to its mini- The synthetic resin finish on the veneer and the vulcanized latex coating on the back of the veneer may. be sprayed on or otherwise applied and are thorou ly dried before-the veneer is used. The latex penetrates the wood surface, and cut in certain this coat to thoroughly dry, anywhere from fiftightly in place. The hydraulic presses necessary to exert enough their original cost, all of which is reflected thus sealing the thin lamina of wood aeneerbetween two coatings utmost limit.

should it, be

tort the support when coated and attached with vulcanized latex.

.45 laying veneer has been with some kinds of wood 1 directions itpenetrates through;

the complete drying, before apply ng the latex",

adhesive, allow mg, checking and splitting. It also N0 Drawing. Application March 26, 1946,

teen minutes to twenty-four hours, the veneer prepared as above on to surface, smoothing it out over tain a complete surface contact. and complete adhesion between the veneer and the surface is obtainedwlthout any additional pressure whatsoever otherv than the initial smoothing operation. In this manner veneer can be applied by the ordinary workman, with the only requisite tools and a paint brush.- After this thin Instantaneous veneer has been applied to a surface, it has every appearwood and the veneer. will stand baking up to degrees for a period of hours. as well as immersion in water, without any sign of checking, peeling, cracking, or splitting.

The contrast ofextremely low humidities in heated houses with extremely high humidities when sultry summer days load the air. with moisture vapor, is 'what causes the greatest difllculty with ordinary wood veneers. The low humidities dry every particle of the moisture content out of the veneer and it to its The high humidity then forces the wood and ance of solid moisturevapor into the cells of the wood in attempting to expand, but being held by the glue, causes blistering. In the opposite reaction a damp wood when applied to a surface and then subject to low humidities, or split. than V of an inch is so great that it tends to buckle or crack upon the receipt or giving up of moisture. Even with-some absorption of moisture, desirable 'toomit the resin finish, a lamina of this order of thickness will not obtain sumcient strength in swelling and contracting to either distort itself or its rubber adhesive or pull itself loose, or separate its particles or dison which it has been placed It has been found that a suspension of is most effective.

Although the use of latex in connection with known for years, the use of latex vulcanized prior to its application, while it is still in a liquid form, in connection with thin lamina of wood freed from inherent moisture is believed to be new.

Other impregnating agents and adhesives have been used, but none having the advantage of ore-vulcanized latex which, when it is applied and dried, holds the thin vi ieer and all its par tides in one piece and prevents bubbling, crackmakes the "Vultex'f the surface to obbeing a pair of scissors thin, fragile veneer more of a durable fabric and less subject to cracking and breaking while it is being handled. It will of course be understood that the vulcanized rubber does not harden. so the coated lamina is flexible and comparatively v strong. Latex adhesive which has not been prevulcanized has been found impractical for the p fl se of holding thin veneer to a surface. The

present invention avoids theme of an inter- ,mediate cloth, paper.

or other material between 2,2ee,cao

2. An article of manufacture consisting of a single lamina of wood veneer freed of inherent moisture of approximately inch thick or less having a coating of dried vulcanized rubber on on side thereof, a substantially waterproof coating on the other side thereof.

3. The art of manufacturing veneer consistm of cutting a lamina of wood of approximately I inch thickness, or less, drying therefrom all the thin veneer and the surface. to which said I veneer is to be applied.

with the use of one lamina of veneer as contemplated by this invention there is no cross pulling of lamina against lamina..as is so often the case where several are used, even though they are often placed with the grain at angles in the respective laminae.

From the above it can easily be seen that this product can be manufactured at a very low cost, the processing of the veneer being a simple spraying application of the finish on the one side, and the pro-vulcanized latex on the other side of the veneer. v

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

single lamina of wood veneer freed of inherent moisture of approximately $6 inch thick or less having a coating of dried one side thereof.

various 1. An article of manufacture consisting of a vulcanized rubber on so or less, drying therefrom all inand drying the same, applying to the surface to be covered a coating of vulcanized latex and drying the same, then smoothing the lamina of veneer, dry rubber against dry rubber, into contact, without the necessity of the application of any other pressure.

JOHN S. WILLIAMSON.

wood of approximately 36 and applying to one side thereof 

